After her retirement from teaching, she took on the failing Northwestern Pacific Railroad; preserving the railroad became her passion. She was the first woman to be elected chairman for the North Coast Railroad Authority in 1998 when she was 80 years old. The plaque she received for this honor was presented to her by the board of directors chairman, who said: “Whoever thought an 80 year old school teacher would be actively managing the NCRA, but there’s nothing like this little old schoolmarm.”

Ruth was very proud of that award and worked diligently to the end of her life to save the railroad.

Cloverdale is considering building a bike and pedestrian path to its rail station in anticipation of eventual commuter train service.

The path is being proposed as a way to link the downtown to the station on the opposite side of the freeway.

The bike/pedestrian path, dubbed the Cloverdale Greenway project, could replace two of the four vehicle lanes on Citrus Fair Drive that run under Highway 101 and connect the west of town to the station on the east.

Thanks, all for your support. It was one of those things that was hard to get, was good info on the railroad. Every monthly meeting they have a presentation with photos of progress on the railroad. However, they haven’t posted a single 2009 presentation yet. I keep saying, they need to show what they have done, it is a pr thing.

Rail transport, especially electrified rail, is much more efficient, and less damaging to the environment, than transportation by car or truck. It can help to dramatically reduce energy use and carbon emission. Even better, it’s a win/win scenario for the economy, the environment and the fight against global warming.